by Neal Shusterman
First sentence: “The Mona Lisa was dead.”
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Review copy provided by the publisher.
Release date: December 1, 2026
Others in the series: Scythe, Thunderhead, The Toll
Content: There is talk of assisted suicide and of murder – including mass events. There is also some mild swearing. It will be in the YA section of the bookstore.

In this prequel to the Scythe series, we follow a diverse group of (mostly) young people in the world as it struggles to figure things out. There’s Aziz, who programs a couple of AIs that are given competing directives (not by Aziz). There’s Renz, who was an eco-nihilist until he destroyed the Mona Lisa. There’s Lizzie, who has taken it upon herself to release people who are put into stasis (there’s a place called Twi-Life where, when someone gets too close to death, they can choose to go there to “wait” for a cure) against their will. There are a lot more characters – almost too many – to relate here. The book takes place over several years, as the world comes closer to immortality, and this group of people – who don’t know that they are the ones in this online message board (for lack of a better term) talking about the problems of immortality – becomes more and more invested in what the future will hold.

Much like the Scythe series, in this one Shusterman tackles the ethics of immortality and curing all disease, as well as the ethics of creating AI. I know in those books, the Thunderhead is an all-knowing, wise creation, but in this one, the competing AI – Overcast and Securis – are not that. And I found it fascinating to see the process of how the Thunderhead became what it is in the books. In fact, this is one of those prequels that’s best if you read the original series first. It gives background and worldbuilding that deepens and expands the story, which is always a good thing. I’m pretty sure this is going to be at least a duology (if not a trilogy), because the story doesn’t end; it just stops, which is a little frustrating. That said, this is as good as any in the original series, and I’m happy to be back in this fascinating world.